Merchant & Gould has focused exclusively on intellectual property for over a century, bringing an unmatched depth of knowledge and experience to patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and all other types of IP.

John T. Winemiller Inducted as Fellow to American Bar Foundation

March 25, 2016

John T. Winemiller, a partner with Merchant & Gould, has been inducted as a fellow to the American Bar Foundation. Winemiller is based in the Knoxville, Tennessee, office of the national intellectual property law firm.

“We welcome Mr. Winemiller to The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation,” said Ajay K. Mehrotra, director of the American Bar Foundation. “The ABF is the nation’s leading research institute for the empirical study of law, and The Fellows are leading practitioners from all over the US and beyond who support the ABF’s independent, rigorous research on law and legal processes. We are grateful for Mr. Winemiller’s commitment to the Foundation.”

The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation are a select group of lawyers, judges and legal scholars recognized and elected by their peers for dedication to the community and legal profession. Membership is limited to less than 1 percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction.

The American Bar Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization founded in 1952 by the American Bar Association and is the premier institute for research in the empirical study of law, legal processes and the impact on society. The fellows support the research projects of the American Bar Foundation.

Winemiller practices intellectual property law, focusing on patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright litigation. He joined the firm in 2008 and was promoted to partner in 2013. Winemiller regularly appears on peer-reviewed lists of top lawyers and is the incoming chair of the Intellectual Property Section of the Tennessee Bar Association.

Before shifting his focus to law, Winemiller earned a master’s degree and doctorate in music history and theory from The University of Chicago. He was a professor at The University of Chicago and The State University of New York at Stony Brook, where his research focused on the nexus between creative work and ideas of intellectual property, work that eventually lead him to becoming an attorney.

Winemiller serves on several civic and nonprofit boards, including Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and Knoxville Jazz Orchestra. In addition, Winemiller is the chair of Merchant & Gould’s Diversity committee, and provides pro bono services to arts, civil rights and education groups.